Book about Alicia Alonso in celebration of Cuba's National Ballet

October 25, 2023

The book "Alicia y las Maravillas del Ballet, Revisitaciones desde la artisticidad", by photographer Jorge Valiente and journalist Sahily Tabares adds to today's celebration of the 75th anniversary of Cuba's National Ballet.

Presented the evening before at the Fayad Jamís bookstore in Havana's Historic Center, the volume offers an extensive collection of photographs, accompanied by assessments of the art of the illustrious prima ballerina assoluta, choreographer, teacher and founder of the prestigious Cuban company.

Published by ArteCubano Ediciones, a publishing house of the National Council of Plastic Arts, "it is truly a text written by four hands or, better put, by one hand and one eye, a book of two wills and a single protagonist, Alicia," according to curator and art critic Rafael Acosta.

As expressed by the co-author of the work, who also serves as a professor of Cultural Criticism at the Faculty of Communication at the University of Havana, the book seeks to preserve the cultural photographic memory of the Cuban nation by taking as reference the artistic work of Alicia Alonso from the stage.

Its 124 pages are a faithful reflection of the ballerina's artistry and provide the possibility of observing Alicia's ballets over many years, with emphasis on emblematic roles in classics such as Carmen, Giselle and Don Quixote among others, noted editor Alain Cabrera.

Jorge Valiente (1936-2019) is considered one of the most recognized contemporary Cuban photographers, with a body of work that, over half a century, bears witness to the political, social, artistic and cultural history of the Caribbean island.

He held more than 20 exhibitions in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Dominican Republic, France, Spain and Cuba, and taught at universities in this country and the Dominican Republic.

Sahily Tabares, Doctor of Sciences in Arts, is a journalist specialized in cultural topics and has published several books, some in co-authorship with Valiente, her life partner until his dece